Today, we cast Oregon's Electoral College votes for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris

Voornaam,

Today, I proudly joined six other Oregon Democrats to officially cast Oregon's Electoral College votes for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, our next President and Vice President of the United States.

This was an incredible honor, and the 306 Electoral College votes won by the Biden/Harris ticket across the country is a culmination of years of work done by Democratic volunteers, activists, organizers, our staff, and regular Oregonians and Americans who responded to the outcome of the 2016 election with a determination that we would not let Trump's dark vision for our nation prevail again in 2020.

Joe Biden received a record 81 million votes — winning the decisive states by tens of thousands of votes, and the popular vote by a historic 7 million votes, bigger than the population of 36 states. Trump’s whining and Republicans’ frivolous lawsuits can not and will not overturn the will of voters.

While I'm honored to have taken part in today's ceremonies, America's process of using the Electoral College to elect our President and Vice President is a relic of a bygone era and our nation's racist beginnings. The "compromise" that created the Electoral College in the 1787 Constitutional Convention accommodated the institution of slavery, declaring that any slave would count as 3/5ths of a person for the purpose of determining congressional representation. Forty percent of the South's population were slaves, and the 3/5ths compromise granted extraordinary power to the South, a skewed system of determining who would become president, and not a single vote to any slave.

Over 230 years later, one of the remaining vestiges of slavery is the Electoral College, and as we've been reminded multiple times over the last 20 years the Electoral College can lead to undemocratic results where the candidate who receives the most votes is not the candidate who ultimately wins.

One of the Democratic Party of Oregon's priority legislative action items in 2018 was to support the adoption of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, and I'm proud that the Oregon Legislature chose to do so in 2019. The states that sign the Compact agree that their electoral votes will be cast for the winner of the popular vote in a presidential general election.

While the Compact has not yet entered into force, we look forward to the day when enough states join and we can live up to our democratic ideals and elect our President and Vice President by popular vote.

Today, we've finally begun the final chapter of the 2020 Election. And while it's important to celebrate our victories, we're already looking toward what we must do to address the challenges we face in the days, months, and years ahead. From COVID relief and economic recovery, to tackling the climate crisis, to mending many of the rifts that have emerged in our democracy and our communities — we are stronger when we can count on the support of Oregon Democrats like you.

If you're able, please consider making your end-of-year contribution to the Democratic Party of Oregon today.

Thank you,

— KC

KC Hanson
Chair
Democratic Party of Oregon

The Democratic Party of Oregon is powered by supporters like you. With the Oregon Political Tax Credit, Oregon residents making under $75,000 a year can contribute up to $50 and receive that money back as a tax credit when they file their taxes. It's like a free donation! Make your end-of-year gift today.

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